Logan O'Connor extends his contract with Avalanche for six years

Shortly before their first preseason game, the Colorado Avalanche announced that they had agreed to a six-year contract extension with Logan O'Connor.

The average annual value over those six years was $2.5 million. If that number sounds familiar, it's because it's the exact same contract the Avalanche gave Miles Wood as a free agent in the summer of 2023.

O'Connor, 28, scored 25 points and a career-high 13 goals in just 57 games last season. His season ended prematurely when he had to undergo hip surgery, which most likely prevented him from setting new highs in any major statistical categories.

What Logan O'Connor meant to the Avalanche

While O'Connor's point totals have been modest, his overall impact has not been. He made every line he played on significantly better, especially the line he called home for most of the season alongside Wood and Ross Colton.

In the 282 minutes the trio played 5v5 together, their expected goal share was a whopping 55%. In 338 minutes without O'Connor, Wood and Colton's expected goal share dropped to 52%. That may not seem like much, but the quality was significantly compromised.

With O'Connor, this line created 178 scoring chances, 76 of which were high-risk. Without him, Wood and Colton created 168 scoring chances, 81 of which were high-risk, but in an additional 56 minutes.

This increased efficiency underscores O'Connor's value to the offense, but his speed, work ethic and ability to play shorthanded were also notable.

O'Connor's final game of the season was on March 3 against the Chicago Blackhawks. At that point, Colorado was ranked 11th in the league at 80.4%. From that point on, the Avs were ranked 16th at 78.3%.

It's not fair to say that O'Connor was the only difference-maker in all of those numbers, but his absence and the Avs' struggles in an area that will plague them for the rest of the season, especially the playoffs, show a clear limit.

Again, the difference isn't huge, but the Avs were worse at both positions in O'Connor's absence. You also had to consider the trade deadline. Would the Avs have sent a draft pick to Minnesota for Brandon Duhaime, whose play was closest to O'Connor's, without the season-ending injury? We'll never know, but it's entirely possible the team wouldn't have made that deal.

Because I'm me, let's take a look at O'Connor's great stats at a glance.

Logan O'Connor's great statistics

This is everything I wrote above, distilled into some charts and graphs. The bottom line is that O'Connor was an excellent defensive forward at 5v5, an above-average playmaker on offense (though he clearly wasn't a great play finisher despite his astronomical 15.3% shooting percentage), and an above-average shorthanded forward.

When you factor in O'Connor's speed, which is a perfect fit for Colorado, you can understand why the Avs wanted to make sure O'Connor didn't get anywhere near the open market. He probably could have demanded something along the lines of Yakov Trenin's four-year, $3.5 million AAV deal ($14 million versus the $15 million the Avs gave him).

With the Avs willing to stick around long-term, AAV dropped and Colorado and O'Connor found a sweet spot. The Avs certainly care more about AAV than term at this stage, as they are loaded with a top-heavy roster of expensive superstars.

O'Connor, nicknamed the “Mayor of Denver” due to his popularity and championship career at the University of Denver and with the Avalanche, is now under contract until age 34.

For more immediate reactions to this deal, check out the gang's Emergency Podcast.